Sunday, November 29, 2009

Red pencilskirt is finished - and new plans

Yay!! my pencilskirt is finished. Let's start with a picture, shall we?The picture is a bit dark but in the other pictures you can see the fabric more detailed. (I don't like pictures without a head, but I understand sóóó very well why people publish them that way. Today I wanted to be brave though. And I assure you: I cán laugh you know. I réally can). I'm glad it is finished, for several reasons. First of course because of a new addition to my wardrobe. Overall I'm happy with it but I did have some issues making it. It all went together very well and I had high hopes that this would become a winner. But altough I measured everything very well and I used a tnt-pattern, the band is a bit too wide. If I wear it, it stands away from my body. Just a tiny little bit but also just enough to annoy me. I first wore a belt in the picture but that accentuated this problem in a rather hilarious way. Just below the belt, the band was peaking out, like two little sidetables. Awfull!! Actually I think this has to do with the fabric (and of course NOT with my sometimes insufficient sewing skills, my impatience to finish, or my aversion against making muslins ;-) It was very stretchy in the parts where it was cut off-grain.That's probably also the reason for this problem:The band in the back on the left is wrinkled. (It's not on the other side). Sometimes this problem disappears after ironing it, but not this time.I can't undo the band and put it back on. I cut of quite a lot of the (inner)seams to make them thinner and the fabric is really of the fraying kind. But I'll accept it just the way it is. The problems I mentioned cán be hidden problems if I combine the skirt with the right tops or blouses. So all in all, I'm glad with it and plan on wearing it this week to work. It's fully lined. The lining is black and not blue as you would think seeing this picture.

It has the right 'body' for this time of the year. (It would also be see-through if I hadn't lined it). It has a little gusset which is hardly functional but I feel that this model needs it. It makes it just a bit more funky.

Now something else. Did anyone of you see this pattern? It's called The Slinky Shrug and it's a free download pattern from Hot Patterns/Fabric.com. If you want to download this pattern (or get a better picture) click hereBig chance you already came across this on the internet for I saw it at different places and I have to say it really caught my eye. I love it. I want it. Yesterday someone was wearing a similar one and it was so cute. I never used a download-pattern before and with this fairly easy pattern I thought I'd give it a go.

So after I printed everything out and placed it in the right order on the floor I turned my back for a second to do something else. Only to come back to this:

Now, thís is what a guilty cat looks like. Not for long though. Only a few minutes later when I had rearranged everything again, this happened:

I think he's trying to tell me: "Make me a cute littly shruggy too, pleeeze". Well, no harm is done. Everything is still in one piece. This is definitely something I wan't to make, but not yet. I want to find the right fabric for it and right now I feel like I first need to sew up some fabric that's already in my stash. You can't keep bying can you? Ok, ok, stupid question I know. It's just I'm not a stashbuilder. Not at all!! I think I have about 12 pieces of fabric at the moment and I already feel guilty. Yes, go on, have a good laugh you all.

One great aspect of finishing something is the fact that you can start afresh with a new project. Let's see...hmm..the other pencilskirt? A blouse? Pyama's? (I have seen the most beautiful cotton fabric for new pyama's.Yes, I know, it's pink again. That's not my favourite colour or anything, it's just the fabric caught my eye and the first thing that came up in my mind was: pyama's !!!! (The two different shades of pink are caused by a shadow, I guess).

But: can't buy yet, must sew stash first.

To make a long story short: I haven't decided yet on my next project and that's absolutely not gonna happen tonight either. For now I'm in desperate need of a chinese take-away and a quiet evening in. In my next post most likely the reveal of my next sewingadventure. So stay tuned!

Ha ha ha, my cats did the same thing with all those printed shrug pieces on the floor, but one also hid under a piece of paper while chewing up another! Mary Beth's directions for the shrug are great but the cats make it take more time.

Welcome dear reader !

About Me

Hi! This Dutchie's greatest hobby is sewing. I have been doing it since I was about 14 years old. Still can remember my first real sewing job: hemming a sheet. A straight line of stitches....and I was sold. Once I bought my own sewingmachine I started whipping up all kinds of clothes and haven't stopped since. Enjoy my adventures in sewingland.